Yet another company has launched an on-line flight tracking system. TheTrip.com, a full-service on-line business travel and reservations service, has introduced its FlightTracker service at www.thetrip.com. Visitors to the site can view up to 20 aircraft and five airports at a time. Queries by airline flight number give tabular displays of a flight's status, showing departure airport, destination, tail number or airline and flight number, ETD, ETA, flight status (i.e., ``In Flight''), distance to destination, and closest city, altitude and speed.
Erie, Pa.-based Lord Corp. has secured FAA certification for its NVX Active Noise and Vibration Control System for installation on McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and MD-80-series aircraft. One of the first installations is in a corporate MD-87, said Lord officials (B/CA, December 1996, page 20).
Fallout from the 1995 crash of an American Airlines Boeing 757 near Cali, Colombia has begun, and one of several post-investigation fingers has been pointed at perceived discrepancies in the pilot/machine interface. All 164 souls aboard Flight 965 perished a few days before Christmas when the aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain near Cali while maneuvering for the VOR/DME Runway 19 approach to Alfonso Bo-nilla Aragon International Airport.
Should pilots have a say in the design of non-precision approach profiles? The NTSB says yes, in some circumstances; and we agree. The concept was included in a list of recommendations released by the Safety Board in the wake of its investigation into the November 12, 1995 tree-strike incident involving an American Airlines MD-80 shooting the VOR Runway 15 approach to Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn. (See Cause&Circumstance, July 1996, page 84.)
The midair collision of Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakstan Airlines jets over India in November 1996 put a spotlight on the country's lagging program to upgrade its ATC system, which is considered one of the worst in the world. For three years, India has been upgrading its systems, but much of the new equipment wasn't in use at the time of the accident (that killed 349 passengers and crew), although the government pledged to put the upgrade on the fast track in the wake of the accident.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has set its spring 1997 schedule for the Aviation Safety Certificate Program at its Daytona Beach campus. May 5-8: Accident Investigation; May 9-13: Human Performance; May 14-17: Safety Management. For more information, call (800) 359-4550.
In Callback, the safety bulletin from NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, a corporate jet captain reports a case of malfunctioning instruments from a most unusual source. Trouble began when during the takeoff roll, passing through 100 knots, the flightcrew noticed a difference in airspeed between the captain's and first officer's airspeed indicators. As the airspeed increased, the difference increased.
The G-V has more standard equipment than any previous Gulfstream aircraft, and it's all in- cluded in the manufactured bare empty weight. Almost 300 pounds of gear that previously was added during the completion process now is included in standard production. The observer's seat, for example, has its own audio panel and quick-donning oxygen mask. A triple-wide console replaces the standard double-wide console.
It's now old news, but Friday, January 10 was a pivotal day in the history of the Gulfstream V. Indeed, it was a red-letter day in Gulfstream's history because of the pitched battle between the firm and its competitors for control of the ultra-long-range business aircraft market.
Checking my larder after the Christmas rush, I found that my veggie bin was bereft of brussels sprouts, and my supply of rutabagas was in the red. Zitzing off to the Grand Union, I replenished my supplies and waited at the checkout counter whilst a spa-vined old frump sawed around in her purse for two pennies. My wandering eyes fixed on the tabloid rack, where one of the rags displayed a picture of Liz Taylor, fattened up to around 17 stone and scarcely resembling the perfect 10 she was when she wed Avram Hirsch Goldbogen. Mr.
No matter how good your troubleshooting system is, it won't help keep an aircraft in the air unless you can get to the problem to fix it. That shouldn't be a problem with designs now coming into the market, because in the words of Georges Pellegrini, an engineering representative at Dassault Falcon Jet, ``We've designed a revolution right into the product.'' The Falcon 2000, for instance, has three main-access areas where systems are consolidated, and the company says the hell-hole is so roomy and well laid-out that they prefer the term ``heck hole.''
In the final analysis, South Korea's Samsung Aerospace was interested only in Fokker's knowhow, and not in its Dutch production lines. Thus, talks of a Fokker rescue failed, and the manufacturer is talking of participating in the Airbus program in an attempt to keep its aircraft manufacturing activities alive.
Michael Bloomfield, CAMP Systems Inc.'s VP for its Andromeda scheduling system, has left CSI to purchase a company in an unrelated aviation market. CAMP President Wayne Hoppner says Andromeda development and support will continue as before, although some product development may be outsourced. The Ronkonkoma, N.Y. company's Internet-based e.Card access system for CAMP subscribers will be launched this winter, says Hoppner.
The European Commission unveiled plans in December 1996 to set up a European organization to have regulatory control of aviation safety, certification and operation that would have sufficient clout to compensate for the influence of the FAA (B/CA, January, page 13).
A suit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson charging that the FAA violated a pilot's constitutional rights in suspending his ATP certificate. Timothy Frye, chief pilot for Viscount Air Services of Tucson, was cited for several FAR violations in the repossession of a Boeing 737 at Pittsburgh International Airport.
As anyone who surfs the Internet knows, the amount of information available there can be bewildering. Since aviation safety information often is buried in the maze of sites, finding credible resources can be a formidable task. Safety/OASIS, the aviation-safety information area of the Aviation Week Group's home page has a new look and has added features. The site provides a simple index to its collection of safety-related news, on-line information and links to government, academic and industry safety resources.
Wayfarer Aviation (White Plains, N.Y.)-Jon Swartzentruber joined this corporate aviation man-agement and charter company as manager of charter sales. Previously, he was vice president of marketing for Marc Fruchter Aviation in Reading, Pa.
Coming to the home of one of the largest marinas in the world and a favored spring-break haven, the National Air Transportation Association Annual Convention and Trade Show convenes March 24-27 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The five-year-old Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center will be the hub of special events for NATA's ap-proximately 1,400 members, representing the air charter and FBO community.
Photograph: Aviation Computing Systems by Mal Gormley If you've ever wondered about the contribution of computing systems to the aviation world, how they became such an integral part of the industry, and how they will affect your career, then Aviation Computing Systems by Mal Gormley is the baseline reference you need. The author, who writes B/CA's annual ``Avcomps Roundup'' is an established specialist in aviation computing technology. While being the closest thing to the long-missing text on the subject, Gormley's book doesn't squelch the wonder.
In-Flight Phone Corp. of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. IFPC forged an interim service agreement with MCI Telecommunications Corp. to conduct business as usual for 45 days, and is making plans for post-interim funding after that period. IFPC is the maker of Flight Link Executive, an airborne telephone system that features completely digital phone service with an interactive screen-based information and entertainment system.
Gulfstream International Airlines, the rapidly expanding Miami-based regional, has signed a code-sharing agreement with Continental on flights between Florida and the Bahamas. The company also has a marketing agreement with United. Gulfstream will operate as a Continental Connection carrier in Continental Connection livery throughout Florida and to Freeport, Nassau, Treasure Cay, North Eleuthera and Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas. The carrier has more than 160 daily departures.
A majority of operators and the NTSB support the FAA's long-awaited proposal to allow single-engine aircraft (piston or turbine) to carry passengers for hire under FAR Part 135 IFR. But at least two major manufacturers do not agree. For example, Cessna, which builds the Caravan single-engine turboprop, says the rule should be limited to turbine aircraft. And Raytheon, which builds no single-engine turboprops, is against the proposal altogether. Comments were due March 3 (B/CA, January, page 13).
Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (Washington, D.C.)-Karl Florian, vice president of operations for Jet Support Services in Chicago, is this association's new chairman.
When Israel Aircraft Industries starts delivering new Galaxy business jets to the United States for completion, they will arrive on ferry engines that will be removed and shipped back to Israel to power another delivery. As the aircraft nears completion, it will be fitted with new engines. Galaxy Aerospace Corp., the marketing and support arm for IAI business jets, says this procedure will save related inventory costs for customers.
HeliShare, a fractional ownership program introduced in 1996 by the Lynton Group, expects to put its first helicopter into operation on April 1. Lynton, with offices in London, England and Morristown, N.J., bought a Eurocopter AS355N that will be offered for sale in one-quarter shares to owners for transportation throughout the Washington, D.C./New York/Boston corridor. Lynton said it expects to have sold all four shares in its first AS355N by May 1, and, in a second, identically configured AS355N in July.
